1. The Technical Field
The present invention is directed to a personal hygiene device, for assisting a person in cleaning, e.g., soiled, hard-to-reach surfaces, whether on the body, or in the user's environment.
2. The Prior Art
Personal hygiene devices are used by people to clean themselves, others (such as by health care providers) or surfaces of their home. While many people clean themselves, or, as caregivers, clean others, with toilet paper, towelettes, etc., by holding the towel or wipe directly in their hands, there are others who cannot or choose not to do so. Similarly, many people directly hold towels or wipes to clean surfaces in their environments, while others cannot or is choose not to do so. Elderly or disabled persons who have impaired mobility, or persons of a fastidious nature, can benefit from using a personal hygiene device to clean themselves and discard used toilet paper into a toilet bowl. Similarly, a personal hygiene device may be used by someone to apply ointment or cream to an area of their, or someone else's, body with a wipe containing such an ointment or cream. Finally, a personal hygiene device may also be used to wipe parts of one's home that may be hard to reach, or that a user would rather not wipe directly, such as a toilet bowl, sink, shower stall, or bathtub. In all of these cases, the personal hygiene device assists the user to wipe or clean areas, that the user cannot or chooses not to, address with a towel, wipe or toilet paper sheet held directly with their hand.
A personal hygiene device allows the user to attach a wipe, such as toilet paper, a towlette, a cotton ball or swab, etc. at one end of the personal hygiene device, holding the personal hygiene device at the other end, and maneuvering the personal hygiene device such that the end with the wipe attached to it will wipe the desired area. Such a personal hygiene device may be shaped with a slight bend to allow for easier handling and use.
A personal hygiene device also allows the user to release the wipe, into a toilet bowl, garbage can, or the like, without the user having to directly touch the soiled wipe. In prior art devices, the hands-free release is usually done through a purely mechanical actuation, such as by depressing a switch or pressing a button, which in turn causes a linkage to cause the end holding the wipe to release it, allowing the soiled wipe to fall into a receptacle below. While mechanical actuation is known to be effective, the additional moving parts add cost and weight to a personal hygiene device, and may more easily break or become disjointed with repeated use.
It would be desirable to provide a personal hygiene device having a simplified, yet reliable construction and operating structure. It would also be desirable to provide a personal hygiene device that is constructed for easier storage and portability.
It would be desirable to provide a personal hygiene device with the benefits of hands-free release and easy storage, while offering improved reliability and lower cost.
These and other desirable characteristics of the present invention will become apparent in light of the present specification, including the claims, and drawings.